Rage, rage against the dying of the light
by SageK
Summary: The aftermath of 5x6 Deal.
1. Chapter 1

It happened so fast.

One moment Matt talking about an X-Box and the next he was in frantic motion, shouting, "Get down! Get Back!", shoving Kaden and herself down. Gunshots rang out, louder than she expected, as Alesha crouched by a wrought iron fence, shielding her face and freezing until the shots stopped.

Her ears were still ringing when she looked up and took in the chaos around her. Having picked themselves up from the ground, uniformed constables and barristers were running about. Kaden was sitting up in front of a brick wall, a look of shock on his young face.

"Matt! Matty!" Ronnie reached his partner's side first, calling his name and pressing his coat onto Matt's chest. From where she stood, Alesha could see Matt's legs moving listlessly, but he said nothing as Ronnie shouted for someone to call an ambulance.

On numb legs, she stepped forward and gazed down at Matt. His big, blue eyes stared up into the sky, not focusing on anything and his normally healthy complexion was chalky white. Though Ronnie's coat covered most of Matt's chest, she could see blood on his neck and a thin stream trickling from the corner of his mouth.

As Ronnie put more pressure on the wounds, blood quickly seeping through his coat and staining his hands, Matt began gasping for breath, bringing up greater amounts of frothy blood bubbles. His eyes were unfocused and glazed, roving wildly as he was wracked with violent tremors. Lying, palm up, on the pavement, Matt's right hand spasmed, grasping at air.

That galvanized her into action. At once the reality of what had happened hit home and she dropped to her knees, taking his hand in hers and saying, "Hold on, Matt. Please!"

"There now son, listen to her," Ronnie said and Alesha could hear the suppressed panic in his voice. "You'll be fine."

It wasn't clear how much Matt was understanding, but she saw pain and fear in his unfocused gaze. Gently stroking his hair, she murmured reassurances and prayed that help would arrive soon.

Almost on cue, a pair of paramedics appeared in a flurry of medical lingo and swift, competent motions.

"Stand back," the senior paramedic said briskly, pulling Ronnie's coat off of Matt and ripping his shirt open. Her younger partner cut the rest of the shirt and jacket, taking his pulse and blood pressure. "Cardio/pulmonary penetrating injury, diminished breath sounds on the right."

Two bullets had hit Matt in the chest.

"Tachycardia, decreased systolic pressure," her partner stated, "Setting up a rapid infusion line."

Slapping a patch of something over the wound on his right side, the senior paramedic announced, "Pneumothorax…urgent needle decompression…"

"Cardiac tamponade!"

"Putting in a Foley. We need him stabilized for transport."

Alesha wasn't entirely sure what they were doing, but they were calm, going about their duties then strapping Matt to a stretcher. "I'm riding with him," Ronnie said and, receiving no protest from the paramedics as they hustled toward the ambulance, called over his shoulder, "Meet us at St. Anne's."

"I'll be right behind you!" she replied, watching them board the ambulance and roar off.

The plaza around her was still in chaos. Constables moved around, securing the scene and reassuring civilians. Another pair of medics were tending to another wounded officer. In the distance, she could see news crews setting up cameras to report on the shooting.

One reporter was pointing at her.

She had blood on her hands.

Matt's blood.

"Ms. Phillips?"

She jumped as Kaden touched her arm. In the shuffle, he'd been largely ignored and was standing by her side, biting his lip and trying not to look at the blood.

"Can I go to the hospital with you?"

He sounded so young and scared. He was young and scared.

It was probably (definitely) against protocol, but she nodded, giving him a wavering smile. "Yeah, let's go. Wouldn't want Matt waking up before we get there, right?"

* * *

><p>Hospital waiting rooms were all the same. Antiseptic white walls, stiff, plastic chairs, a lumpy couch if you were lucky, fluorescent lighting and the lingering smell of sickness and bleach. Monotonous, canned muzak pouring softly from the PA system and the squeak of rubber shoes on linoleum.<p>

When Alesha and Kaden arrived at St. Anne's, a harried nurse in the A&E department directed them to the surgical wards waiting room. There they found Ronnie pacing like a caged bear. He informed them that Matt had been whisked off to surgery within minute of arriving.

No one had been out to bring him any updates since then.

"Guv's on her way," he said, clearly worried for his friend. "She's called his mum…or a sister, I'm not sure who she got, but if one of them knows they all know…Meanwhile, these forms are a nightmare!"

He was holding a clipboard that clearly contained Matt's admittance paperwork. Understandably, he hadn't yet made much headway into it.

"Let me have that," she said gently and he blinked as she slipped the clipboard from his hand.

It was as though he really hadn't registered them before. He looked startled as he asked, "Kaden?"

The boy squirmed a bit under his gaze before mumbling, "Just wanted to make sure he was okay, is all."

Alesha perched on one of the uncomfortable chairs, preparing to balance the clipboard on her knees, as Ronnie nodded and clasped Kaden on the shoulder. "Good lad. Let's grab a tea for Ms. Phillips and ourselves."

"Okay." Kaden seemed relieved no one was forcing him to go.

"Thanks," Alesha said, forcing a smile as they stepped away. Once they disappeared from sight, she let out a breath that had caught in her throat and placed the clipboard beside her.

When she'd fallen to her knees by Matt to hold his hand, she'd scraped her knees, tearing the skin open. At the time, she hadn't even noticed, there had bee too much going on, but now she stared. Matt's blood had gotten everywhere, her hands, her coat, her skirt, legs, boots…on her knees. She couldn't even tell what was hers and what was his.

Touching the drying blood with one hand, she felt tears escape her eyes and covered her mouth with her scarf. Alesha allowed herself to let the fear and shock out for a minute before giving herself a shake.

Yes, today had been terrifying, but Matt was strong. He'd survive.

Taking a deep breath, she wiped her eyes before picking up the clipboard and pen and looking to see what headway Ronnie had made.

"Alesha."

She looked up to see DCI Natalie Chandler, Matt and Ronnie's superior officer, entering the waiting room. To her surprise, Jacob Thorne, her own boss at CPS was with her. "Natalie, Jake…Matt's in surgery. Ron's taken Kaden to get tea…."

Natalie crossed the room and sat at Alesha's side, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"Me? Yeah, of course…Matt, he pushed me out of the way. The shots were so loud and….""I know," Natalie said kindly, clearly not wanting her to have to relive the events just yet. "Matt's mum is on her way. Perhaps we should get you cleaned up before…."The blood. "Yes, of course," Alesha agreed, not wanting the poor woman to have to see her covered in her son's blood. That was a shock she didn't need.

"I'll find a nurse, get a change of clothes for you," Jake said, clearly at a bit of a loss as to how to react in this situation. He was still finding his place in the interpersonal dynamic of their group, but he was there and trying to help, so credit to him.

It took a rather long time to clean up, even with Natalie's help, but when they emerged, Alesha clad in loose, blue scrubs, Ronnie and Kaden had returned and were sitting in the waiting room with Jake. A tense, worried silence filled the room as they sat there, waiting for news.

Soon after, two women appeared, looking wide eyed and worried. The older of the two looked to be in her 60' and was gripping the younger woman's hand. Their features spoke of their close family relationship and no one could have missed the resemblance to Matt.

"Maggie," Ronnie said, rising from his seat, eyes on them. "I'm so sorry, dear."

The younger woman - Maggie - gave Ronnie a half hearted smile and replied, "We know, Ron. This is my mum, Katherine…."

"What happened to my boy?" Mrs. Devlin demanded, her thick Irish accent something of a surprise, given the Kilburn tones of Matt and his sister. The redness of her eyes said she'd been crying, though her cheeks were dry now and Ronnie froze slightly.

Stepping forward, Natalie said, "Mrs. Devlin, I'm Natalie Chandler, Matt's DCI. I spoke with you earlier. Why don't you have a seat and I'll tell you what we know."

With a resolute nod, Mrs. Devlin strode toward the chairs, then squeezed her daughter's arm. "Go on down to see if they need blood while I speak with Ms. Chandler here."

Maggie looked like she might protest for a moment before taking in her mother's expression and relenting. "Yes, Mum," she said softly, then hurried out of the room, flat soled shoes nearly silent on the floor.

After she disappeared, Mrs. Devlin asked, "How did this happen?"

"Matt was shot outside the courthouse," Natalie said evenly. "The paramedics stabilized him and he's in surgery now."

The older woman reacted by blessing herself and murmuring something too low for Alesha to hear.

The room fell quiet again as they all sat back, worrying and waiting for any news.

TBC….

Comments, pretty please?


	2. Chapter 2

As Matt's surgery stretched on for seemingly endless hours, friends from the department drifted in and out and Caleb eventually had to leave. Both Ronnie and Alesha promised to keep him updated as he left with a pair of uniformed officers.

Time passed and heralded the arrival of several more Devlin siblings. Alesha knew he came from a larger family, but she'd never met any of them before. Maggie was the youngest, born a mere 10 months after Matt. Their mother referred to them as her twins.

Next to arrive at the hospital was Maura, the oldest of the lot, followed closely by Maeve and her husband. Last to arrive was Michael, a few years Matt's senior and a bit of an odd duck in the family. His features were broader, heavier and he was several inches taller than his little brother.

That was how he referred to Matt. As soon as he'd entered the room, he'd demanded someone tell him what had happened to his little brother.

When a loved one joined the police service, there was always the possibility of having them hurt in the line of duty. It was a worry that niggled at the back of the mind, never completely leaving…but there was always the hope that the call would never come.

Today, that hope had been dashed.

The waiting room was cool, despite all the bodies and Alesha wrapped her arms around herself. The thin scrubs she'd exchanged her bloodstained clothes for did little to stave off the chill.

"My boy thinks very highly of you." Alesha almost jumped when Mrs. Devlin spoke into the silence, looking across the room at her.

As the words registered, she felt a smile tug at her lips. "I feel the same," she replied, noting that Ronnie suddenly found the linoleum floor rather amusing.

When Matt recovered, she was certain Ronnie would tease them about this.

After what seemed to be an eternity, a young man emerged from beyond the swinging doors and looked at the group of them. "Devlin family?"

He looked a bit startled when they all rushed him, but quickly composed himself to say, "Matt made it through surgery just fine. We managed to re-inflate his lung and patch the tears in his aorta. Now, he's going to be kept on a ventilator for a few days to allow his lung to heal with as little stress possible."

Again, he was rushed, this time caught surprisingly strong hugs from Matt's mother and sisters. Alesha found herself smiling and embracing Ronnie and Natalie.

Matt had survived.

* * *

><p>Agatha Saint had been a nurse for over 25 years, had worked in the Intensive Care Unit of St. Anne's for the last 10 and had seen just about every injury imaginable come through the hospital doors. When she'd been handed the chart of one DS Matthew Devlin, she read the facts without pause.<p>

The young man (handsome thing, wasn't he) had been shot twice in the chest (once in the upper left quadrant, right of the nipple, two inches from midline, and again in the upper right quadrant, below the pectoral, three inches from midline). His lung had been punctured and collapsed by one, though he'd been fortunate not to have any ribs shattered. It was a relatively simple injury to repair and he was on a ventilator to assist his breathing while his lung recovered.

Bullet number two, that had been the one that caused some worry. Scans showed the bullet hit Devlin's aorta twice. Injury to this huge blood vessel is fatal 85 percent of the time. The aorta is shaped like a candy cane, its arch coming out of the top of the heart before curving down. The bullet punctured both the arch of the aorta and a large vein that touches it, making a channel between the two - and because pressure is higher in an artery, blood was flowing back into his own vein, preserving it.

The bullet then exited from the descending part of the aorta, leaking blood into the chest, but all in all it was a one in a million shot, dangerous and potentially deadly.

Considering the placement of the injury, Dr. Manos repaired the lower tear by threading a sleeve-like stent up through a leg artery and popping it open, blocking the leak with what's essentially an artificial lining. It took a graft more than half an inch wide and 2 inches long to fit the detective, but it worked, stabilizing him. The upper tear, on a curved portion of the aorta took a second, smaller patch.

Until recently, cardiac surgery required cracking the patient's chest, a traumatic procedure which left them vulnerable to all kinds of infections and required an extended recovery period. Not that he'd bounce back from this in a matter of days, he was still on the vent, had a tube thorocostomy and a variety of IV meds dripped into his veins, but that was preferable to having ones chest split open.

As was protocol, only two visitors were allowed in to see Mr. Devlin at a time. Not long after he'd arrived from recovery, his mother had been ushered in by a man the staff quickly learned was Ronnie Brooks, Devlin's partner at the Met, not his father. They sat for a time, talking quietly, occasionally asking questions of the staff, as Mr. Devlin, Mattie, they called him, slept on.

He needed the sleep to heal.

That didn't keep a number of people from rotating in and out of his room over the next several hours. It was clear he had a large family and was well liked by his colleagues. Normally, visiting hours ended at 8pm and family and friends were asked to leave, but there had been a gentle suggestion from a DCI Chandler that they should look the other way.

Maggie, one of Mattie's sisters, and Alesha, a lovely young woman from CPS, stayed the night, both sworn to call as soon as he woke, no matter the hour.

* * *

><p>"Someone needs to invent a caffeine IV."<p>

Alesha found nothing wrong with Maggie's statement as the youngest Devlin stood and stretched. It was after 3am and they'd been watching over Matt, occasionally drifting off in the plastic chairs, but not really getting any rest.

They had downed a lot of coffee though and Maggie wandered off in search of refills.

Left alone with Matt, Alesha looked down at him, still and silent on the bed. The doctors and nurses assured them that he was doing fine, but he still hadn't woken up, still looked so pale, still had a tube down his throat….

Gently, she reached out, brushing his hair back from his forehead, noting the softness. His skin was warm, not feverish, but alive and that was comforting. "Matt," she said quietly, not really knowing what to say. After some internal debate, she simply breathed, "Wake up."

When he didn't react she slumped a little, allowing herself to lean forward and rest her head on the side of his bed, cheek beside Matt's hand. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the room, the hiss of the ventilator and the squeak of rubber soled shoes passing in the halls.

A slight tug on her hair startled her and she sat up a bit, noting that her hair had gotten tangled in Matt's fingers. Before she could reach out to untangle herself, the hand before her flexed, again tugging at her tresses.

Quickly, she looked up, meeting his confused gaze, and smiled.

She'd never been happier to see those baby blue eyes.

TBC….

Comments, pretty please?


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